The West End Hotel

A hostel situated close to High Street. Banks, post office, internet, bus stop, tube station are all close by. In the west of London, this hostel is in a good area.

The hostel itself caters to both long term and short term stays. However most of the people staying at the hostel are there for the long term, so it can be hard to socialise as it can be hard to mix. The TV area is quite small and only has a limited amount of chairs. Sky Digital TV is provided by the management which is a great idea, but unfortunally they control the remote so you have to request a station change, which can be slighly annoying if someone else changes it, or if you feel like flicking.

Breakfast is included in the price, don't expect too much. You get a choice between toast OR cornflakes, with tea or coffee. It can also be hard to make the kitchen hand cook the toast past a little brown. If you don't get anything to put on your toast (eg jam or butter), just ask.

The dorm rooms are cleaned regulary, however as most people are there for the long term, the rooms are often covered with other people's clothes. So the best that can happen is a vacuum and a change of sheets. The beds are quite comfortable, and the sheets are changed quite often and are new for every new guest.

The bathroom facitilities are technically clean, but some are in a state of disrepair, with some showers not providing hot water at all. In some showers the tiles are falling off the wall, and all look a little grubby. However when you finally find a shower room that works (it can take a while, its pretty confusing) they are private and provide a continuous stream of hot water. The toilets are also mostly technically clean, but some of the rooms they are in are also a bit shabby looking. All rooms contain a basin.

The hostel reception is open 24 hours, it has free valuable storage (which is handing your stuff to the man behind the reception desk) and has kitchen facilities which are disgusting. The fridge looks dodgy from the inside (they claim to clean it once a week). There are electric stoves and the pots have quite a lot of food burnt onto them.

To get there you turn left after exiting Bayswater tube station (circle and district line) walk to the first set of traffic lights, turn left again walk along the road then turn into Kensington Gardens Square.

Overall, a hostel that mostly caters to the long term guest, but is close the transport and other major needs.

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